Technology
How GameStop Italy is boosting customer experience, store operations, communication
GameStop Italy is following in the footsteps of GameStop U.S. in driving better customer experiences, as well as improved store communications and operational efficiency.
August 5, 2022 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
Communication in the retail environment, whether between a brand and customers or store associates and customers, or simply between store leadership and store staff plays a critical role in crafting a rewarding customer experience.
That's a prime reason GameStop Italy, following in the footsteps of GameStop U.S. Inc., deployed the Opterus Opscenter cloud store communications and task management solution across its 271 locations.
With Opterus, GameStop Italy, an American company headquartered in Milan, now has a one-stop portal for all retail operations, allowing all store locations to have a centralized dashboard for tasks, activities and updates. The technology, which is also fueling employee productivity, replaced home-grown solutions and manual processes.
GameStop Italy is using the dashboard, calendar, surveys, messages, task manager, documents and knowledge base modules and plans to roll out additional modules including audits and tickets.
The survey module offers the ability to create customizable surveys and forms that provide information back instantly as it's completed, while the dashboard module allows the brand to provide all store employees updates on information and operations.
The technology is enhancing visibility throughout the retailer's organization and provides store managers and employees quick and easy access to information — all of which enhances a customer's experience.
The deployment effort
Opterus worked closely with GameStop Italy throughout the onboarding phase which included a customized build of the Opscenter to meet the retailer's requirements and brand standards, training and support, and it also managed the process from start to finish, according to Karin Palazzo, operations communications supervisor, GameStop Italy.
"Opterus provides training for all corporate-level staff and administrators of the solution at the retail enterprise. The team worked closely with GameStop Italy to provide digital tools for front line staff at the stores to learn how to navigate Opterus Opscenter," Palazzo told Retail Customer Experience in an email interview.
"Typically, the solution is so intuitive that if a user has used Google, Facebook or email in the past they will have no problems utilizing the tool."
The solution is reducing the time and effort involved with manual tasks, making operations management much more efficient and productive.
"With Opterus Opscenter, we can quickly access a store's feedback and gather updates about daily activities, increasing our awareness of what's happening in every single store," said Palazzo. "The dashboard module allows us to provide all store employees updates on information and operations."
The needed step before tech deployment
Palazzo recommends putting a communication strategy in place, with buy-in from all stakeholders, when deploying task management technology.
"When implementing or selecting a communications or task management solution, you must ensure that you start with a strategy. It is critically important that you understand how you will communicate between the office and the field," she said.
In addition, it's a good step to have a process in place prior to onboarding technology. That process should define how communication and tasks will flow through a "collaborative gatekeeper," in the corporate office.
That gatekeeper, she said, should be responsible for the following:
- Defining the process that manages the flow of information and tasks to stores.
- Understanding the required strategic management of all store workload (tasks/directives, calendar, etc.).
- Allowing for standardized communication to all stores and associates with one voice.
- Fostering two-way communication with the necessary filter from the gatekeepers.
Why a strategy is crucial
Establishing a strategy in advance is critical, according to Gary Stonell, senior vice president of sales and operations at Opterus.
"Many retailers may be intimidated by the onboarding and implementation process when it comes to implementing a solution like Opscenter. It is all about establishing a strategy in advance, with guidelines on how to execute and the desired outcome or KPIs. At Opterus, our team ensures the system is built and configured to meet those objectives," he told Retail Customer Experience in an email interview.
One misconception many retailers may have about technology task management solutions is that it's difficult and expensive.
"The actual creation of the system and implementation is much easier and more cost effective than retailers anticipate. The key reason for this is Opterus conducts all implementation in-house and utilizes learnings from all our clients as the retail landscape changes to ensure we are implementing a system that will drive value aligned to a retailer's goal as soon as possible in the current market conditions," he said adding that Opterus works with clients to continuously refine and improve the technology.
The ability to create a direct line of communication between headquarters, stores and employees lets retailers stay ahead of operational tasks and quickly find solutions when roadblocks crop up. That, said Stonell, is invaluable given all the challenges such as labor shortages, increasing costs and the need to both attract and retain customers.
"The retail industry is notorious for its high turnover rate [store workforce] — add to this rising costs and ongoing labor shortages, and it's a perfect storm in which retailers need to invest in technology to achieve more efficient processes," he said.
"What's more, the retail landscape changes quickly, and ongoing innovation is critical. Flexible technology that fits retailers' unique needs ensures they can service customers as best as possible while engaging and informing employees."
About Judy Mottl
Related Media
Subscribe
Get the latest news and resources from Retail Customer Experience.
